If
you ever get a chance to dine at the French Laundry the White
Truffle oil-Infused Custard with Black truffle Ragout dish is one of the first
Amuse Bouche that will be served from the chef's menu. I always wanted to make this dish for quite some time
and for some reason never had the right occasion or the right time to make it. But
tonight I am having friends over for a fancy dinner so this is a perfect time to
whip out the French Laundry cookbook and hopefully I will make Tomas Keller
proud by adapting this recipe. Click on link to see our dinning
experience at the French
Laundry

White
Truffle-Infused Custard is served in an emptied egg shell. The custard is fine
and rich, perfumed with white truffle oil and topped with a layer of veal stock
ragout and black truffle oil, and served with a crispy chip partly submerged in the
custard.

The
custards themselves are fairly simple to prepare but preparing, cutting and cleaning
the egg shells to save for a beautiful presentation takes lot of time.
to me in the end the effort is totally worth it! The dish came out looking
stunning and the flavor of the custard is simply wonderful. This dish is a
great prelude to a great meal. The portion is tiny so once you finish the
custard you still want more....

Thomas
Keller used chives in this chips, I used parsley because I think it looks a bit
fancier but it really does not affect the taste of the chip.

the
ragout is very flavorful but I barely made enough so the next time I will
increase the portion.

By
the way this dish looks deceptively simple...It is not so allow at least a few
hours to prepare it.

Crack
the top of the egg. Don't make a large hole, just enough to pour out
the inside of the egg. Pour 2 of the eggs into a bowl to reserve for the custard, and the others
you can save for any other kitchen uses.

Set
the empty shells in the egg carton

Use
a sharp knife to cup off the top of the egg. Clean the inside of the
shells with running water.

Using
your fingers, carefully remove the membrane and
clean up any loose shell pieces from the edges of the shell cavity.

Clean
them one more time and set them on the egg carton.

In
a saucepan, heat the heavy cream and milk.

As
soon as it reaches a boil, transfer to a blender. Carefully
pulsing, slowly build speed of blender to prevent extreme splattering.
Add truffle oil...

..
add the 2 reserved eggs, truffle oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Strain
the custard through a fine mesh strainer. Allow to sit for a few
minutes, then skim foam from top of custard

Using
a pan that is a least 3 1/2 – 4″ deep, fill about 1″ of hot
water into the pan. Place custards (carton and all) into the water,
and top off with more water if necessary to have water level reach 3/4 up
the sides of the eggs. Place pan into oven, cover with a lid or
baking sheet, and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until custards are set.
Remove from oven and set aside.

Peel the potato & use a paring
knife to trim it into a band-aid shape, about 4" long &
1" wide.

Close
look on how I trimmed the slice of potato into a band-aid shape.

Brush 2 Silpats or parchment paper with clarified
butter. Sprinkle with Kosher salt. Place one Silpat on baking sheet.
Stack the
potatoes in order so you will be able to match them. Place parsley
leave in the center of
the potato. Use your fingers to press down & remove any air
pockets.

Lay the other potato slice on top. Cover with the 2nd
Silpat.

Preheat oven to 275F.

Put another
baking sheet on top to weight down so that the potato chips are flat.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.

Remove
the tray + the top silpat, Put it back in the oven for another 15
minutes or so.

Remove
from oven when it is nice & golden
brown.

Chips can be made 2 days ahead.

After
40 minutes the eggs are done. If you are not serving them right
away, keep them cover so they can stay warm for at least 2
hours.

I don't
have pictures for the ragout but it is really simple to prepare:

Put
the stock into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 3-4
minutes, or until it coats the back of a spoon. There should be about 3 Tablespoons
of sauce.

Finishing:
Swirl butter and truffle oil into reduced
stock. Season to taste. Place each egg in a cup, and spoon about 1 teaspoon
of ragout on top of the custards and then place a crisp chip in each egg.